West Bank closures leave patients delayed at checkpoints
Ambulance crews say Israeli roadblocks around Nablus are delaying urgent care, with several recent deaths linked to blocked access.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
West Bank closures patients rely on for access to hospitals have turned ambulance trips into hours-long ordeals, according to Al Jazeera interviews with Palestinian medical workers. The restrictions matter because Nablus is the main referral point for many nearby villages, and crews say delays are affecting dialysis, childbirth and emergency care.
Al Jazeera reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a “wide-scale military operation” across the occupied West Bank on Friday after a settler attack in the village of Tal. Since then, large parts of the territory, especially Nablus Governorate, have faced road closures and checkpoint delays, with restrictions also reported around Ramallah and as far south as Bethlehem Governorate.
How are West Bank closures affecting patients?
For patients, the closures can turn a short route to hospital into a long detour through checkpoints, inspections and waiting. Ambulance driver Yousef Diriya told Al Jazeera that a trip that usually covers about 20km can now require up to 100km, even when the ambulance has been coordinated in advance.
Diriya said he was held for four hours at Awarta checkpoint while transporting kidney dialysis patients. He described repeated checks of IDs and the ambulance itself, saying delays are especially hard for crews whose work depends on reaching treatment quickly.
Another ambulance driver, Bashar al-Qaryuti, gave testimony to the Palestinian state news agency Wafa after transporting a six-month pregnant woman from Qaryut early Monday. According to Wafa, soldiers stopped the ambulance at Awarta for about half an hour, ordered the vehicle turned off and searched passengers, including the woman, who was bleeding and in severe pain. Her unborn baby died before she reached hospital, according to that account.
Hospitals and clinics under pressure
Al Jazeera reported that Nablus’s entrances have been sealed in recent days, cutting off villages that depend on the city’s hospitals for serious cases. In Aqraba, Dr Ayser Bani Jaber said his small clinic lacked the equipment normally needed for high-risk deliveries, but two women in labour arrived there early Sunday because crews could not get them to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus.
Bani Jaber said his wife, Dr Yusra Dweikat, a gynecologist at Rafidia, delivered both babies at the clinic. After the second birth, the mother began bleeding, and the clinic had no blood bank; Bani Jaber said it took about half an hour of calls and coordination before she could be transferred to Rafidia.
Al Jazeera also cited recent deaths before the latest lockdown. On July 5, three-month-old Ahmad Zaid stopped breathing in Deir Ammar refugee camp, where a locked Israeli military gate had blocked the route to Ramallah hospitals since February, according to the report. On July 18, Sujood Fuqahaa, 30, from Sinjil died of cardiac arrest after soldiers did not allow her ambulance to pass during a weeklong siege of the town, Al Jazeera reported.
What officials and health groups say
The United Nations has recorded about 925 Israeli-imposed movement obstacles across the West Bank, affecting an estimated 3.4 million Palestinians. The World Health Organization documented 233 attacks on healthcare facilities, staff and ambulances in the West Bank in 2025.
Imran Anati, a researcher at Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, told Al Jazeera that the health system is collapsing amid access restrictions, medical supply shortages and Israel’s withholding of tax revenues meant for the Palestinian Authority. He said blocking communities while preventing ambulances from reaching patients puts civilians at immediate risk and called for safe access for medical teams under international humanitarian law.
Wafa reported that Israeli forces entered Nablus Specialised Hospital on Friday and handcuffed medical staff while detaining two brothers admitted with injuries from the shooting near Tal. Diriya told Al Jazeera that Palestinian ambulances were being held while Israeli vehicles passed through checkpoints, calling the experience demoralising for paramedics trying to provide care.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.